29.8.16

Missing On A Weekend Movie Review

CAST: Pavan Raj Malhotra, Karan Hariharan, Dishank Arora, Dibyendu BhattacharyaDIRECTION: Abhishek JawkarGENRE: ThrillerDURATION: 1 hour 53 minutesSTORY: Seven friends go on a trip to Goa. After a night of hard partying, one of them is found dead, another one unconscious and the rest missing. Thus begins a whodunit story.

REVIEW: Pitched as a thriller, the film opens as an attempt to shed light over crimes in Goa and takes a fictitious course soon after. But it does take references from criminal activities that brought the state in news. After celebrating a friend's birthday and some drunken brawls amongst themselves, seven friends retire for the night. The next morning, Lakshya (Hariharan), one of the seven, is found unconscious on the beach. During the course of further investigation, the police learn that another person from the group is found dead in the hotel but the remaining ones are nowhere to be found. The case is handed to 'super-cop' Ali Ansari (Malhotra) and Lakshya is the prime suspect. As the investigation proceeds, missing pieces of the puzzle start falling in place. Meanwhile, Lakshya convinces Ansari of his innocence but the chance arrest of a drug-lord (Bhattacharya) puts onus back on the lad.

Missing on a Weekend tries to build up, a la The Usual Suspects style. It succeeds in keeping you hooked for a while but soon gets predictable. In the process, it ends up looking like a long episode of a desi crime series. Unnecessary item songs, repetitive dialogues and shoddy editing make it a tardy watch. Plus, there are several loopholes that are left unattended to.

For a film that banks on a fresh crop of actors, there's little to look forward to in terms of performances. Karan (who is singer Hariharan's son) shows some spark but the rest of the new cast urgently needs to take acting lessons. Malhotra, a seasoned actor, who has delivered memorable performances in Black Friday and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag to name a few, plays the brooding, tough cop convincingly.

You can take your chances with this film. Even if you don't, there won't be a lot to have missed this weekend.